Moody Bitches

April 27, 2015
Campbell’s fluid narration drives home the points made in this exploration of some women’s mood swings and the science behind drugs used to treat them. Campbell’s matter-of-fact tone and precise enunciation moves the listener easily through the research, which reveals how drug companies, powered by huge marketing campaigns, have turned normal human experiences, such as anxiety and stress, into diseases that they claim need to be fixed through medication. While well-timed pauses and modulations highlight the surprising statistics offered—such as that antipsychotic drugs are the #1-selling medication in the “Altered States of America”—Campbell’s soothing voice also serves Holland’s argument that fluctuations in a woman’s mood are not only normal but necessary. Even the usually negative connotations of bitch become positive and powerful when Campbell utters the word with a crispness and attitude, helping to accentuate the author’s spin on women’s sexuality. A Simon & Schuster paperback.